Unfit to Be
by ReDO
Summary: The plot of Finding Nemo now told through humans. Marlin's handicaped son, Nemo, is taken from him by a doctor who thinks Marlin is not a good father. While trying to rescue is son, Marlin meets up with some familiar characters. Will he get his son back?
1. Chapter 1

The house was huge. Probably about three times more space than Coral thought they would need. Triplets didn't mean a whole clan of children, after all. But her husband looked far too eager about their new place for Coral to say anything.

"Wow!" Marlin chorused for the tenth time that hour. He had just returned to her after exploring every room again. "Did your man deliver, or did he deliver?" He puffed out his chest in pride before his wife, who was laying down on their only piece of furniture at the moment, their queen sized bed.

"My man delivered," Coral replied sheepishly. "And you know, it wasn't easy." Coral rolled her eyes as he started for his fifth retelling of how he got the place. "Cause a lot of other couples were after this place," she said before Marlin could continue. The man deflated a bit, realizing he was being annoying. "Well... Yeah."

Coral noticed that she had hurt him more than intended and clumsily tried to get off of the bed. Marlin quickly rushed to her aid and helped her up. "You did good," Coral said, patting his hand while bringing him to the closest window. "And the neighbor hood is awesome."

Outside the street was busy with suburban life. A man and woman were jogging down the street in sweat suits; kids played in a yard; a father was playing football with his son. Everything seemed so peaceful. Coral had to suppress a shudder.

Marlin caught her lack of enthusiasm and turned to his wife with concern. "You do like it, don't you?" Coral smiled with sympathy. "Of course I do" She was going to leave it at that but Marlin looked unconvinced. With a sigh, Coral continued, "It's just... Do you really think we need this much space?"

"Oh..." Marlin's shoulders fell. "Well... You know... We won't have to worry about moving." Marlin tried to explain his reasoning as best he could. "No matter how big the kids get, this house will always fit them. Unlike our apartment back in the city."

Coral nodded in agreement. He was right. The kids would be able to grow up in one place. They'd have friends for life just down the street. Plus, it would be much safer here than in the city. "I guess I didn't think of that~" Coral said before leaning in to kiss her husband on the cheek.

When she pulled back, Coral noticed his cheeks were tinted pink. "Really? Still?" she asked through a giggle. Marlin's eyes darted down and he scowled at the floor. "Shut up."

Coral quickly took his hand and led him to the bed. "It's still as cute as ever," she said with a smile. Marlin tried to stay annoyed but couldn't when she was looking so beautiful. He brought his hand down to her bulging stomach and rubbed it happily. He whispered a few words of love to both the children growing inside his wife and the woman he loved.

"We still have to name them," Coral suddenly stated. "What? You want to name them NOW?" Marlin was shocked she wanted to when they didn't even know their genders yet. "Yeah... At least have some ideas."

Marlin looked as if he was deep in thought before brightening with a smile. "I got it!" he exclaimed, quite pleased with himself. "We'll name the boys Marlin Jr. and the girls Coral Jr." Marlin still held his smug smile before Coral's laughter cut through it.

"You can't really do that!" Coral said, wiping tears off her cheeks. "Why not?" Marlin said with one hand firmly on his hip in defiance. "Because that would get confusing for the two that share a name." Coral was practically dying from laughter.

"Fine." Marlin said, defeated. "Do YOU have any suggestions?" The man was down right annoyed now and not even his wife's glistening cheeks, with their soft freckles, could make him smile. He really did want to name his kids after himself and Coral.

Coral took a few moments to compose herself. Once she was no longer giggling, she rubbed her tummy in contemplation. "I like Nemo."

Finally, Marlin's defiance fell as he understood what Coral meant behind that name. She wanted their children to be unique, not like anyone else. So that they'd each have their own identity despite being triplets. "All right," Marlin said, "we can name one Nemo... But I'd like to name one Marlin Jr. as well."

Coral grinned happily, caressed her husband's cheek, before yawning. "It's been a long day," Marlin said with a shy smile. "I think it's time we went to bed." Marlin got up to change but his wife was still in her nightgown. She was on maternity leave from her work so hadn't bothered to get dressed this day. She had decided the world could know her as 'pajama lady' for one day.

It wasn't long before her husband returned in his own long sleeved pjs and turned off the lights before crawling in next to Coral again. Light laughter could be heard and a sigh soon after. "What is it now, Coral?" came Marlin's annoyed voice. "Your pajamas... They reminded me of our first night together."

Marlin was thankful the lights were off as his cheeks blazed up once more. "Go to bed," he stated curtly. He turned to face the wall and tried to calm himself down while his wife's laughter faded away. Marlin soon dozed off to the sound of Coral's easy breathing.


	2. Chapter 2

"Honey, I'm home," Marlin cried into the house with delight. It had been another successful day at the office but he was eager to see his wife. He also wanted to know how the ultrasound had gone. This was the first one he wasn't able to attend thanks to the merger meeting. Rotten thing, Marlin thought while searching the rooms for his wife.

Each door opened up to a room already decorated for its purpose. There was an office, two kid's bedrooms and one nursery. The nursery was lovingly adorned with teddy bears and stuffed toy elephants. The atmosphere caused Marlin's smile to brighten further. He honestly couldn't wait till his children were born.

But where was his wife? Marlin was getting anxious and rushed to the master bedroom. He swung the door open to find Coral lying in bed. Her brow was crinkled and sweat flecked her skin and the sheets. Her breathing came in hitched and rattled. "Coral?" Marlin asked as he crossed the distance between the door and bed.

"Marlin?" the woman said through closed eyes. Her hands removed themselves from the sheets and came searching for her husband's. "I don't feel so well." Marlin took Coral's hands with care before placing the back of one on her forehead. "You feel cold."

It took ten minutes before the paramedics were there. They were lucky Marlin wasn't one to yell or else they would have gotten an ear full. Instead they were met by a very fidgety and worried man at the door. They rushed past him toward the direction he pointed. The older of the two took the lead and quickly accessed Coral's condition. "This isn't good," he said to his partner. Marlin was all but ignored as they carried his wife out on a stretcher to the ambulance.

Marlin paced back and forth in the waiting room. He couldn't stop thinking about all the "what if"s. What if he hadn't had to be at work today? What if he had gone to the ultrasound with Coral? What if she had been delayed at the doctor's just a little longer? What if they were only having one child?

So far the distraught husband knew that Coral had been like that for over an hour. They said it appeared to be a complication with the birth. The younger paramedic even went so far as to hint at the multiple birth aspect as being the instigator of the problem. Coral was a small woman to begin with anyway. The young man said he body didn't seem ready to support so many children at once.

The ER waiting room felt empty of life. Marlin was the only one well enough to pace. Everyone else stayed seated as their eyes followed him back and forth. The tears that spilled from his eyes kept most from talking to him. They were all afraid of being told a story of woe they weren't prepared to hear.

Hours passed before finally a doctor pushed his way out of the double doors and up to Marlin. "Mr. Fische?" the doctor said while extending his hand toward the anxious man. "Yes, that's me," Marlin replied. He took the offered hand but didn't put half as much effort into the shake as he usually did.

"I'm sorry." Before the doctor could continue, Marlin had collapsed on the floor. He cried until there was nothing left in him. He didn't care why exactly the doctor was sorry. He only knew that something had gone wrong. Someone wasn't making it out of the hospital okay. That thought in of itself was enough to break even the toughest dad. Marlin was anything but tough.

Once Marlin was propped up in a chair and was no longer weeping, the doctor managed to get out the rest of what he had to tell. Anyone could see in his face how much it hurt him to tell Marlin. "Your wife didn't make it. Neither did two of your children." The doctor's giant cold hand thumped onto Marlin's shoulders in an act of comfort. A small hopeful smile was forced onto his face before be continued. "However, one of your sons did."

Marlin's face shot up and took the doctor's at full view. "Really? He's alright?" The doctor's smile fell as he stood. "I can't say that. He's not going to be like other children. Now, that's not saying he can't live a full life… Well… Why don't you come see him?" Marlin nodded his head dumbly as the news sunk in. He got up and followed the doctor to the nursery to see his son, all the while praying for his child's health.

The baby was so small. He was in the same room as all the other sickly children, but Marlin only had eyes for him. His tiny eyes were shut and his chest rose thanks to a machine. But the thing that disturbed Marlin was his son's legs. Only one was fully there, his right leg had stopped forming at the knee. "Oh, Nemo," Marlin whispered to the baby.

"He'll be okay," a nurse said, coming up to check on Nemo. "He'll just need some extra help, is all." The woman was very adamant about this prospect. She checked his vitals before turning back to the father. "He'll need you to be there for him. ALL there for him. Don't let his mama's death destroy you. You're responsible for someone now. "

The nurse soon left and Marlin numbly put his hands in the gloves that allowed one to touch the babes in the ICUs. "Nemo… Coral, I'm so sorry." Marlin's tears fell once more while he stroked his son's cheek. He wished things had gone differently.


End file.
